The adult social care sector workforce has increased to 1.58 million and contributed an estimated £41.8 billion to the English economy reveals ‘The State of the adult social care sector and workforce’ report published today by Skills for Care. Skills for Care produced this estimate of the contribution made, in…

An amnesty on care equipment has been launched in the Scottish Borders with people being urged to hand in items they no longer need. The Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Partnership, working with council-owned social care provider SB Cares, hopes to recycle and re-issue the items. Walking and bathing…

An initiative to train GP receptionists in directing patients to different services if they do not require an appointment with a doctor has been trialled in parts of England. Some reception and clerical staff have been given enhanced roles as "care navigators" to help patients see the right person the…

With half of social workers intending to leave their jobs soon, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and Social Workers Union (SWU) have launched a new campaign to improve professional working conditions.The recent UK Social Workers: Working Conditions and Wellbeing study paints an extremely worrying picture of ‘spun out’…

A family court judge has raised concern about the lack of support offered to a woman with a low IQ who suffered "extreme abuse". Judge Stephen Wildblood said the woman, who was in her mid-20s and had an IQ of 66, had not been offered "therapeutic support" although there had…

A raid on a three-bedroom house in north west London found 35 men living in rooms full of mattresses. The discovery was made on Winchester Avenue, Queensbury, at around 6am on Tuesday following complaints from neighbours, Brent council said. The men, all of Eastern European origin, had piled bedding in…

Social workers are facing "intense pressure" to ration social care for some of the most vulnerable people in society, a report has claimed. Local authorities are "scrabbling" to fulfil their duties to provide care to the most vulnerable with "grossly insufficient resources", according to the Care and Support Alliance -…

A care home for older people near Oban has been told to make urgent improvements in the care provided to vulnerable residents. The Care Inspectorate has served a formal Improvement Notice on Lynn of Lorne Care Home following an inspection which raised serious concerns. The notice lists six areas which…